Author:Jussi Adler-Olsen
The Keeper of Lost Causes (originally published in the UK as Mercy) is the nail-biting first book in the internationally bestselling Department Q series. It is now a major movie, released in the UK in August 2014.
At first the prisoner scratches at the walls until her fingers bleed. But there is no escaping the room. With no way of measuring time, her days, weeks, months go unrecorded. She vows not to go mad. She will not give her captors the satisfaction. She will die first.
Copenhagen detective Carl Mørck has been taken off homicide to run a newly created department for unsolved crimes. His first case concerns Merete Lynggaard, who vanished five years ago. Everyone says she's dead. Everyone says it's a waste of time. He thinks they're right.
The voice in the dark is distorted, harsh and without mercy. It says the prisoner's torture will only end when she answers one simple question. It is one she has asked herself a million times:
Why is this happening?
Praise for Jussi Adler-Olsen:
'Gripping storytelling' Guardian
'Engrossing' Sunday Express
'As impressive as it is unnerving' Independent
Jussi Adler-Olsen has sold over 10 million books worldwide. He is the internationally bestselling author of the Department Q series (Disgrace, Redemption, Guilt and Buried) featuring Carl Mørck. The Keeper of Lost Causes was originally published in the UK as Mercy, and is now a major Danish language movie.
A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever
—— Sunday ExpressAs a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing
—— Daily MirrorDick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end.
—— Sunday TelegraphFrancis at his authentic best
—— Financial TimesTarantino meets Peter Mayle
—— Independent on SundayCara Massimina was a triumph of the darkly-comic-thriller-and-something-more-besides genre. This is an even greater one
—— Daily TelegraphIt is Vargas's eerie, sensuous portrait of Paris, at once a place of romance and dread, which resonates most hauntingly in this novel
—— Dan Sheehan , The Irish TimesA flavoursome translation, it shows her [Vargas'] dark charm from the off
—— Boyd Tonkin , Independent on SundayMark Haddon's portrayal of an emotionally dissociated mind is a superb achievement. He is a wise and bleakly funny writer with rare gifts of empathy
—— Ian McEwanI have never read anything quite like Mark Haddon's funny and agonizingly honest book, or encountered a narrator more vivid and memorable. I advise you to buy two copies; you won't want to lend yours out
—— Arthur Golden, author of 'Memoirs of a Geisha'Original, moving and entertaining for adults as well as for older children
—— Julia Donaldson , Daily ExpressA deservedly acclaimed read.
—— Time Out LondonIt may be McHugh’s debut psychological crime novel, but in my book, The Weight of Blood, puts this talented writer up there with the best of them. Inspired by a true story that took place in the town in the Ozark Mountains where McHugh spent part of her childhood, this gripping thriller bravely confronts the scandalous treatment of young women in modern-day America… A compulsive debut filled with suspense, this book leaves me wanting more from McHugh
—— Peterborough Evening TelegraphA chilling psychological thriller with two distinct strands... This is tense, atmospheric stuff well told, an impressive debut
—— Love ReadingOne of my favourite reads of last year, this is a well-written cleverly plotted and chilling story
—— Daily ExpressCompelling.
—— Sunday TelegraphThere is a fantastically handled creeping dread to the narrative flow… The ambiguity of Jake's story and her history are played with brilliantly throughout, making this an eerie, creepy kind of existential thriller.
—— Doug Johnstone , Big IssueTim Winton [is] a writer with whom the fearless Wyld deserves serious comparison.
—— Catherine Taylor , Sunday TelegraphCompletely and utterly monumental. Powerful and beautiful written... I was a fan of Evie Wyld beforehand and this is such a leap forwards. An important book.
—— Bidisha , Saturday Review, Radio 4Thriller, beast-fable and fantasy, Evie Wyld’s second novel is a sparky, dark yarn set in a georgic world of sheep husbandry where things have gone spectacularly awry.
—— Stevie Davies , IndependentIn a sense, this is a tale of possible love and redemption, at once energetic and dark. In another sense, it is a book about summary justice and suspicion, which we readers have been indulging in too… Clever and very unexpected indeed.
—— Kathleen Jamie , GuardianA story that asks darkly whether we can rid ourselves of our past.
—— Julia Wigan , Country LifeWyld has a skill for creating flawed characters you can’t help but root for.
—— Mariella Frostrup , CosmopolitanIt is written with wit and affection.
—— Four ShiresThis is a wonderfully atmospheric novel with a gripping narrative that keeps the reader on edge all the way through.
—— Good Book GuideA dark, powerfully disturbing and beautifully observed story about a haunting, both physical and temporal.
—— William Boyd , New StatesmanEvie Wyld merges into her mysterious tale of a lonely shepherdess a savage Australian back-story that lends a haunting extra dimension to a novel of troubling beauty.
—— Boyd Tonkin , IndependentA page-turner.
—— Viv Groskop , ObserverAll the Birds, Singing is a gracefully written, absorbing thriller from a new literary talent.
—— StylistA hair-pricking rural thriller that confirms the talents of a thrilling prose stylist.
—— Patricia Nicol , MetroI’ve never taught a creative writing course, but if I did I’d certainly introduce my would-be students to Evie Wyld’s All the Birds, Singing... Written in the future tense, the book has an ending of extraordinary pathos and beauty.
—— Ciarán Collins , Sunday Business PostThis is a powerful, gritty, strong story of suffering and survival... It is quality stuff, stunning.
—— BooksellerA wonderfully atmospheric novel with a gripping narrative.
—— Good Book GuidePrecise, intense, haunting and poetic… This is a subtle exploration of suffering and resilience and, for once, the hype matches the talent.
—— Lucy Atkins , Sunday TimesBroodingly lyrical… Spellbinding.
—— Megan O'Grady , Vogue USWyld uses language that is purely gorgeous, even – perhaps especially – when underscoring dread.
—— Barbara King , Washington PostImpressive.
—— New York TimesA tough and tender take on suffering and redemption.
—— PsychologiesSuspenseful and melancholy… Masterful
—— New YorkerA compelling, tense novel that lingers with the reader long after it has been finished
—— Eastern Daily PressWith beautiful writing, it is a compelling, rather dark story which makes you laugh and cry
—— Morag Watkins , Watford ObserverI am obsessed with it, and with what Wyld is going to do next
—— Lisa Coen , Irish Times